


Undermining the Mission

by Rionarch



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Edited, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-09
Updated: 2013-05-26
Packaged: 2017-12-10 20:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/789879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rionarch/pseuds/Rionarch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not one day into the Soul Society and Ichigo breaks Urahara's plans. Neglecting to tell information has long and strange consequences.</p>
<p>-Edited and revamped</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

 

"I will rip you apart." The expression on that Ryoka's face was almost priceless. Such a serious thing he was. He couldn't but laugh even a little. Gin coudln't imagine just how much fun this point in their mission was going to be. Sure he was promised a get away, but this was worth the long wait they had. 

"You're such an interesting guy. Aren't you afraid of me?" The orange haired Ryoka _had_ to be Kurosaki. A glance at the others showed a big ole' cast of people behind him- including the cat Captain Aizen said would be with them.

"Absolutely no-"

"Oi! Stop messing around Ichigo! Let's retreat first!" The cat spoke. Huh. Gin knew he found what Captain Aizen had sent him for. Those humans were such a breath of fresh air for the dead. The switch in facial expressions, besides being so quick and obvious, had a truth to it as if that was what he was really feeling. It probably was. The cat he wasn't sure of though. Was it Urahara or Shihouin? Or somebody else entirely.

Something was off, though.

The boy was arguing with the cat and seemed to have no awareness of what exactly was going on. For a moment, only brief, Gin wondered about the holes in his Captain's plan- there were none as of yet. Maybe...just maybe. He interrupted the odd conversation between Ichigo? and the cat.

"Why do ya want in here so badly anyway? To see the pretty boy- Kuchiki?" Wow. Again with the fact reactions- this kid was _really_ interesting! The pale one tensed up in the shoulders and step half back. That one was more ready for a fight than he appeared. 

"Eh?! You know the jerk going to kill his sister?!" The cat was besides itself now as it was trying to claw its way out of the grip of another dark skinned kid besides a rather buxom girl and some guy with glasses. Bor-ring! Best speed this up, some of the unranked shinigami were finally coming to the chaos.

"Well Ichi-berry, " The kid looked comically agree at this name, he _so_ had to get Kana-Chan to use it. " I think I can help ya a bit there. Got to hurry though!" He shunpued over to the kid and pulled him aside. Man he loved those expressions. The kid was spurting at him about some nonsense. 

"Stop! Ichigo get back here now!" The cat was frantic and that legwork looked familiar even if it was in another form. That was defiantly Shihouin With one arm draped over Ichigo's shoulder, Gin pointed his zanpakto toward the soon-to-be-former Gate Guardian before any of the other merry band could come in.

"Ticket for one though. Shoot to kill, Shinsou." Shinsou basted through the Giant's stomach and sent him flying into one of the village house. This _was_ a good morning! A new playmate, fun, and destruction, what more could he ask for?

"What the hell was that, fox-face?! Why-" Smiling even wide her clamped his free hand against Ichigo's mouth leaving only muffled noises of anger and he tightened the shoulder grip. Seemed like he wasn't the only one that was going to be giving out nicknames. 

"I'll explain, but we've gots to go. Captain Aizen's going to looove you!" And they were off before any of the little ants, as Aizen liked to call them, even saw them.

...

After the blur ended, Ichigo found himself in an empty hallway of sorts with no windows and large doorways. Faintly there was a smell of blood around but that could have just been from fox-face's sword. He found himself just leaning against the wall with Zangetsu's pressure comforting him.

_'I hope Jidanbou is alright. Orihime could probably patch him up but how are they all doing? Yoruichi is so going to kill me._ ' He made a face. Never in his entire life of fighting punks to gangsters to most recently hollows, did he ever thing he'd be afraid of a cat! Whispers from the next room over stopped and another person followed fox-face, only he looked..well normal. More normal then any other person he had met in the past few weeks. Almost ridiculously normal.

"Hello there, Ryoka. You seem to have wandered a little far from your home, haven't you?" He spoke softly and in charge. Kind of like how a teacher was supposed to. Not that they ever really talked to him.

"What's a Ryoka?" The man's composure left him for a minute and behind the dorky glasses Ichigo thought he saw eyes widening. The smile on his face only got brighter and more assuring.

"A Ryoka is a wonderer from outside the walls of the Seireitei. And pardon our rudeness, I am Captain Sousuke Aizen of the Fifth Division and my comrade behind me," Fox-face. " is Gin Ichimaru of the Third Division." A swift look back and forth between the two faces brought Ichigo only one conclusion. He's still fox-face as long as he's dubbed _Ichi-berry_. This was like primary school all over again come to think of it.

Oh wait. They need his name.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. You want to help Rukia?" Aizen looked a little surprised while fox-faced chuckled so much his shoulder's shook.

" _Rukia_ you say? Not Kuchiki-sama?" He must have seen how puzzled I looked, cause he went right to the heart of the question.

"Dear boy. Where are you from?" Ichigo hesitated. Should he really be telling the enemy about what was going on? But then again...they could have just killed me before. It was worth a shot and Yoruichi was going to kill him anyway. He explained everything to them. From Rukia's hollow, to her brother (Kuchiki-hime for Gin. I'm liking him more and more) to Urahara and how he became a shinigami again. Gin had long since perched on the wall next to me, almost making me feel cornered but at the same time disarming that with jokes. Aizen however looked a little odd. By the end of the explanation he was laughing and holding his head.

"What so funny about Rukai getting killed?!" He was starting to piss me off. Without warning he pulled me up from the slouch and held my shoulder up for eye to eye contact. This guy had height on me I didn't notice before.

"...Urahara...didn't tell you anything? Giving away shinigami powers and not reporting back is an offense without a doubt, but not execution worthy. She's being murdered because of something Urahara put inside of her Gigai. It is a devices that transcends the line between Hollow and Shinigami. Only a few seated officers know this. I thought at least he would have told you everything about this mission." Aizen walked away and talked to fox-face who looked serious when he wasn't smiling.

' _I know I shouldn't believe a Shinigami but Urahara might do something as fucked up as that not tell anybody. This is the only thing that really makes sense. Damnit!'_ Both of the captains were looking at him.

"Ichi-berry" Fox-face " We've gots to go to our meeting now." Aizen finished the thought.

"Please, stay in the rooms down that hallway but do not pass this room. Its warded so no other shinigami can get in..or out for that matter. I think we'll be able to help each other out." When they left Ichigo sat down on the stairs and looked around at the large dark building he was in. If he concentrated a bit he could feel the energy brimming around them. 

"Rukia...you'd better be okay at the end of this." This wasn't the plan at all.

But he never was told the plan, was he? Ichigo lingered on that particular note.


	2. Becoming the Safety

It had been a few hours since Aizen and Ichimaru had left Ichigo to himself in the strange building. Like most of the other places Shinigami lived were overly tall and plain white. A few hallways lead to what he guessed were rooms but they looked sort of abandoned. What really got his interest was the library a few floors down, maybe even underground if he knew what floor he was on to begin with. There had to be thousands of books on one case alone, some huge while others look like small pamphlets. Ichigo nearly tripped over a slab of black stone that he hadn't notice before.

' _Well its either the directory or the check out list. Definitely the check out, the books seemed to be in order and some are repeated._ ' The some of the repeated ones caught his eye, like "Status of Interment Unit" and a few records about crop growth and water potential. ' _This isn't a library its more of a hall of records_.' The last book on the list really got Ichigo curious.

"Rogue and Criminal Shinigami"

Rukia.

Not sure how to work it, Ichigo tried to walk into the shelves only to be blocked again by the slab which he now realized followed him around. Taking a chance he hesitantly pressed his hand against the name of the book and watched the lettering glow for a moment before going back to normal.

"What a gyp."  He turned to move out of the hall, which was of no use to him, until he heard paper fluttering.

"AHHHH!" Out of seemingly no where a book started flying right at him. Ichigo knew how to deflect a book being thrown at him thanks to the days when Karin, Dad, and himself managed to annoy Yuzu enough to get involved in the fight, but that was a thrown book. The book being sent at him had to have rockets or something attached to it. Before he could even try to stop it, the binding of the book slammed into the bridge of his nose and sent him flying back into the wall before flopping down peacefully on the floor next to him. As if it were innocent. And somewhere, miles away, Uryu Ishida tripped over a rock.

...

Aizen came back from the Captain's meeting as quick as he safely could. The plan was for he and his subordinates to escape to Hueco Mundo after getting the Hyougyoku from the body. Thanks to Gin's risk taking- which worked out for them- a new plan could be made without sacrificing their positions...it was all a matter of how well they got Kurosaki to their side. He had arrived in time to see the boy figure out the directory and put too much reiatsu into the tablet and the subsequent attacking book.

' _It is like watching an infant._ ' Sousuke watched as the boy glared at the book from against the wall and gently picked it up and went to the back pages. ' _Of course, for his friend. He isn't a complete idiot after all_.' Though really, it didn't matter how intelligent those he used were. After all, Abarai was the epitome of a simpleton and even he had uses. It might even be a good idea to have these two meet in certain conditions. 

"If you had put less reiatsu into the summoning, it would have come a lot gentler." Kurosaki looked up from the book to him, to the tablet, and back to the book. It was almost cute.

"But I didn't do anything except touch it." Sousuke couldn't figure it out. From what he had heard and experienced, the boy could pick up some ideas quicker then Shinigami with decades more experience and in others it was like trying to instruct a rock. As precious as time was, it might be useful to teach Kurosaki something about controlling his spiritual pressure. A few minutes of silence passed when Sousuke really looked at the boy.

He looked like he'd been slapped in the face.

"Is something the matter Kurosaki?" Best leave off the honorific. -San would be too formal and -kun might be too informal. He didn't think he could get away with Ichimaru's audacious Berry-chan.

"This book...why do they make it?"

"Some Shinigami, for better or worse, have done things the question the power of the Central 46. The Soul Society has a king, but a very useless one. He doesn't even stay in this dimension, he and his family are separate, like Earth and the Hollow World is separate." Kurosaki kept nodding along and Sousuke wouldn't lose his chance. "So the Central 46 is a republic of sorts that runs the lives of the Rukongai and the Seireitei and for lack of better words, they are a gathering of prudish old men that refuse to be questioned." He snorted and Kurosaki rolled his eyes back to another page in the book. He had perhaps gone on too much of a rant but that didn't mean much. The boy wouldn't be in this world for too long to communicate what good Captain Aizen might have said. 

"So its their way or death?" He seemed a little shocked that they'd let those fools keep in control and he hadn't even given reasons yet.

"Yes and they have done a number of questionable judgments to otherwise innocent people, like your friend Kuchiki-sama." Kurosaki interrupted him not too politely. He and Abarai would defiantly get on well. 

"Why do you call Rukia that?"

"Well it is her name." Gin must be a bad influence, his humor was rubbing off on him. Baiting humans was disturbingly fun if only for their expressions and this boy was full of them.

"I know that but what about the respectful part?" By now Kurosaki had gotten up and brushed himself off and Sousuke lead them into a common room with some benches for some sort of decorum instead of the floor. It was like talking to a first year student- questions upon questions about little things no one had ever told Kurosaki. For hours the conversation ran from the noble houses to the four basic principles of shinigami, all given individual attention.

He'd avoided the entire house Shihouin. If they were truly going to get the boy in their color of the game it wouldn't do for him to have an out if it came to that. Let him think the Kuchiki's saving was on on the line to them. 

He had even shown the boy a few things, like suppressing reiatsu for starters. Sometimes giving the truth would be easiest and best since it forms a trust. Then others, like the matters of the Shinigami Courts, could be bent a little in his favor.

To his satisfaction, Kurosaki didn't need much convincing. He knew the Shinigami would be his enemies. Just as they are his.

"Kurosaki, I'm afraid I have to leave for the night. Make yourself comfortable in one of these rooms. We'll need to discuss the plans for you helping your friends tomorrow. Ichimaru as well as Tousan will be joining us. You need not worry, he's got a sense of justice that even the government can't corrupt." It seemed like the while of talking had been well spent but certainly fully spent was Kurosaki's attention. He seemed distant and gazed, preoccupied to other thoughts.

Sousuke nodded and left him to them.

It was after Aizen left when Ichigo was able to look at the book again.

"That bastard..." Only one entry behind Rukia was another Shinigami. Captain Isshin Tanimonban of the 10th division, abandoned the Seireitei sixty years ago and disappeared twenty-one years ago into the human world in an untraceable gigai. It even had a little memo,

"Arrest any affiliates, family or otherwise, if applicable." Ichigo knew he wasn't the smartest kid in the world, but he did work hard and had his moments. Something as black and white as this couldn't be ignored.

Twenty-one years since his parents met. An untraceable gigai, from Urahara, not doubt. All of this was starting to look like the same story over and over again. There were a few more entries, highlighted because they were the same defractive group, but he didn't pay any attention to them.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!" Ichigo never got this angry. His father, a Shinigami captain, had just set his entire family up for disaster. They even had a photo of him to go by, his appearance hasn't changed at all. He flung the book across the room. It landed face down and pages bending. 

' _All those years when I thought I was crazy... he knew about ghosts and didn't say anything!_ ' Ichigo's opinion of Shinigami were falling lower and lower by the hour.

...

Locked in the safety of Gin's room, Captain spoke about his afternoon with the Ryoka and how quickly he was willing to accept an anti-government argument.

"It's a sign of the age. Humans move much faster then us and for the past two decades no one trusts their government from all those little wars." Gin nodded. They were indeed little wars compared to what Shinigami did. Only one enemy ever had ever stood against them- their population was now one and and a half.

Captain Aizen  drank deeply from his cup. Even though Tousan was in the Central 46 Chambers the same as Kurosaki he had ordered them to be kept separete. There was no way of  knowing what those two kinds of characters would hit off together. Tousan might appreciate the ryoka's tenacity but there might be too much of a wild streak in him for them not to come at blows just yet.

"Captain Aizen, I really don't think you need to convince him of much more. He already wants to wreck the Seireitei. Let him have his fun. I kinda want to join him." Gin could openly admit that he liked people. Playing around with Little Toshiro and Ran-chan was great and besides Aizen and Tousan, the only other captain he got along with was Kenpachi Zaraki. Ichi-berry seemed like fun.

"The best part of this? I don't even think he'll mind being used if we keep Kuchiki alive and send the other Ryoka back tot he human world. What did we do to deserve a gift like this?" Gin perked up at his Captain's words.

"Gifts? Can I wrap him in little bow?! It'll give Kira something to do for awhile." Gin had been neglecting Kira for a while what being busy with world domination. Maybe he could go on and set up a play date for his newest friend and the Vice Captain. 


	3. Towards the Pale

Ichigo found himself running through the 3rd division grounds making a beeline for the Soukyoku and Rukia's cell which was good. Pretty much planned for by everyone at some point. Hell, even the shinigami were probably waiting for this to happen. Still what bothered Ichigo was the offsetting adivce Aizen had given him before they separated from each other. 

"In case this doesn't end well, you're best bet is to remember this reasoning- Ichimaru took you to the Third Division and kept you there with my help. At the end... it would be best if you saw me at the enemy, it will make things easier for Kuchiki, you, and the rest of the Ryoka." Ichigo had only the barest hints of what was actually going on with the three Captains, except that there was something like a coup d'tat going on. He didn't know what to do about them. Follow their plans or wing it?

Aizen gave him discerning chills and Foxface, while funny, was the same. Tousan he had spent the least amount of time with but he seemed the most off put by him, but that wasn't anything too strange. Most adults in his life had some kind of opinion like that and it seemed pretty much in line. Obviously he was planning with the other too but he was terse and didn't offer any front and it was something Ichigo appreciated- the coldness aside.

On the other hand was Urahara and most of the Shoten. They lied, deceived, and endangered him and his friends. He hadn't heard much from them in the two days. They could be dead or they could be alive and captured. He had no way to know.

Ichigo decided that he was at a very problematic crossroads of life, as cheesy as it sounded. Could he really just let this chaos happen just to save Rukia? Everyone he came here with could die because he was too slow, too misguided to do anything about it. Only a few steps away from the tower and he got a definite answer.

"Long time no see. Remember my face?" The shinigami that took down both him and Ishida, and then took Rukia away.

"Renji Abarai." The asshole lifted the metal guard completely off of his face and we started walking towards each other. This wasn't going to be a friendly hello either. They just needed to get into range of each other. It didn't feel anything like when Foxface was standing off against him. He wanted to get Abarai down for the count.

"If you're still alive, then Rukia's power can't be restored."

"Back then, didn't you take her away because you wanted to kill her?! What's the point in saying that now!" It was the only answer he needed. They were going to kill Rukia and none of them wanted that. Not his friends, not Urahara, hell not even Foxface wanted to see her dead. It was the right thing for them to be doing. The gap was closed and between their faces were they swords hitting each other on anger rather then aiming.

'C'mon Zangetsu. Rukia's depending on this.' Ichigo swung.

...

When she first came to the Soul Society with the others, she believed that she had grown up a little and could actually help. That died only a few minutes in this place. Orihime knew that it was going down hill after the Captain, as Yoruichi told them, dragged Ichigo off into the Seireitei and out of their reach. Chad couldn't even really sense him and they were closer than brothers most of the time. The white walls separating everything seemed more ominous than the fences they kept at school.

After spending a quiet night with the Shibas, her, Chad, Uryu, Yoruichi, and Ganju broke into the shield that they were getting ready for them and it just got worse. They had all landed together but slowly that fell apart. A mob scene of brutes had separated Chad and Yoruichi from them while her and Ishida took Ganju and ran.

There was still no sign of Ichigo or Rukia when they ran into another one of the captains whose face was painted black and white with a strange hat. He blew up some of his own division members and she only just managed to get a shield up to save them and the drunk man (Maki..Maki something or other) that found them. Orihime understood why Rukia never told them about this place. The captain had started making offers about dissection and the "good" benefits of experimentation.

"Inoue, get out of here now! We'll hold him off. Get to Kurosaki or Sado." She ran away. Her heart was beating faster than when she was followed in the streets sometimes when Tatsuki wasn't there to help. Only a few rows away she could already tell that the fight was over and Ishida, Shiba, and drunk guy had lost. She still couldn't find anyone. Ishida was good at finding people- he could have left and gotten to them easily.

And here she was. Curled underneath a window in some building with that Captain looking for her.

'This..can't get much worse can it?' Not a second later Orihime let out a whimper; another Captain had appeared in front of her, his haori obstructed by a very pretty pink one. She could imagine his eyes looking at her from beneath the straw hat. Maybe she could try to fit this one. Find a way to stay in a corner and get invisible until they said something about Rukia.

"Yare. What do we have here? Nanaoooo-chan! Did we get a pretty new third seat?" She heard his voice again screaming through the streets, closer to her. The way people can detect other could be used both ways. He would find her.

"Creature! Where are you! I swear your feminine sakes will be kept fully intact- we don't need production when we can just use blood." Orihime tightened herself even more and tried to get as far away from the window's view as possible. The Captain in front of her looked out of the window and cupped his hand into his mouth.

Orihime felt her heart stop in her throat.

"Oi,Oi, Oi. Mayuri get out of here. You're scaring all the pretty LAAADDIIEESSS!" He winked at her and Mayuri scampered off as if he had a dog at his feet. She heard the door to the complex slide open and someone run out, venting a noise of frustration. 

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS DIVISION CAPTAIN KUROTSUKI! YOU WILL ALSO NOT BE SUBBING IN FOR NEMO IN THE WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION MEETINGS!"

Maybe there was a dog.

"AND YOU!" A thick book flew in through the window into the Captain's face, who crumpled next to her and started crying.

"My sweet Nanao-chan hates me!" Orihime dared to look up out of the window and saw a stern looking woman with very piercing eyes.

"You're one of the Ryoka, aren't you?" For the first time in over an hour, Orihime felt like she could speak again.

"Yes." A straw hat covered her head a good deal of her face. It was the Pink Captain's, his hand heavy enough to put her her head down a bit as he kept his hand there.

"We're going to have to do a better job of hiding you."

...

Aizen looked down at the Quincy and Shiba from the roof. Mayuri beat them easily and the Quincy nearly gave up his powers but a quick sleep spell had stopped that. If they were to keep Kurosaki under finger, some concessions had to be made.'Keeping children alive. It's no wonder humans are easy to plan for, they ignore things unless shoved under their noses.'

In fact, he was quiet happy with Mayuri. Over half the Seireitei had been afraid of him and now Kurosaki's friends were a part of that group as well. It would be amusing to see if the boy "did" him in.

"Come Gin. We'd better make sure they're still pieces left of the Ryoka with Shihouin."


	4. Returning is not an Option

For a better part of the time, Ichigo and Renji just kept slamming into each other, until Renji released his sword, and that's when the blood really started to spill. Ichigo was actually quite happy with how Urahara had taught him. If he had been taught special maneuvers or tricks, he's be stuck with them as a default style- he spent enough years in karate to know that. Ichigo had nothing but his own methods for doing things and it had been working. Until about...two slashes ago from Renji's sword.

'Find the opening and... the opponent becomes defenseless.' It seemed if Renji could only call his sword out three times, so he dove into the ground to avoid the final strike and jet set himself into the red head.

Renji's image flickered for a minute before disappearing and he felt the compacted blade slash into his left shoulder- theoretically he arm should have been severed off. Ichigo stumbled back a few feet.

"You can't beat me. Rukia is going to die because of you, so now I have to kill you!" In a shocked daze Ichigo saw Renji running towards him ready to make the final slash when Zangetsu's voice sort of whispered through his head. He saw his training with Urahara again and the deep gorge he left in the ground. Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu and brought him up in a block and skidded a few feet back. Yesterday's conversation with Aizen started making a little more sense.

"Knowing your sword's attacks is like knowing its name, useless until you find it out." Back into an attacking stance, Ichigo felt the old man's hand on his left shoulder and felt the blood slow a little. Without his permission, Ichigo found himself muttering after Zangetsu.

'Get' "Suga"

'Ten' "Sho!"

From the sword's blade shot a blast right towards Renji, who was not prepared at all, and threw him into the wall behind him, his shoulder is as bad of a condition as Ichigo's. Zangetsu disappeared and Ichigo felt himself heave over onto the blade, with Renji collapsing.

"Kurosaki, you'd better save Rukia." Ichigo honestly want to go make sure the other guy was alright, but he couldn't even make sure he was fine himself. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small shinigami scurry over to Abarai and perform some sort of healing thing before turning towards him. The bleeding was slower for him but he was still winded and dizzy from their fight.

"Uh...can you walk at all?" Ichigo nodded and reattached Zangetsu to his back letting the shinigami lead him into a sewer without an argument. He looked like he was almost afraid and Ichigo realized- this shinigami knew he was a Ryoka. After being hoisted down and practicably dragged into a room, the shinigami introduced himself.

"My name is Hanataro Yamada. Would you...happen to be Ichigo Kurosaki?" Hanataro looks almost hopefully at him while he healed the wound.

"Wh-what?! If you know who I am why are you helping me?!" He spent the rest of the hour healing me and telling me about Rukia's prison sentence. His droopy eyes seemed to get more chipper through the story, even getting a bit animated at the end.

We were only a gateway away from Rukia and Ichigo was not a touchy-feely person but he loved Hanataro that minute.

He had her freaken key.

...

"Don't worry too much. I have no idea what you were thinking, but at least you'll be taken care of now." Momo Hinamori stood in front of the 5th division cells that held the three Ryoka that invaded early in the morning. After scrapping through 11th division and being incapacitated by Captain Kurotsuki, Captain Aizen had brought them here for their arrest. They were all looking a bit haggard and sullen. Well not everyone can be chipper.

"Captain Aizen is a very good man so you won't be treated badly. He's even letting you all stay in the same cell! Try not to worry, you might be let off easy or something." Inwardly Momo hoped something happens to help them all. These three Ryoka apparently came to stop Rukia Kuchiki's execution. Mom knew she wasn't that terribly close to the girl, they were classmates and were always polite and kind to the other. She had the feeling that her captain knew a little more than he let on about the execution.

She left the prisoners and went into her captain's office.

"Captain Aizen?" The door slide open a minute later but only enough to let her captain peek through, as if he were hiding something.

"Ah. Hello Hinamori-chan. Is there anything I could help you with?" Momo looked around and felt for any other people in the area but there were none. Still the cautious voice in her head, who sounded like Toshiro, told her to get inside the office to talk for secrecy. She bowed her head and rushed out,

"Please Captain Aizen! Let me in. I swear I won't tell anybody anything." Since she was bowing she couldn't tell what her Captain's expression was but after a moment of silence the door shifted open enough to let her in. She looked around the dim room and saw a deep black cloak and hat laying on a table.

"It belong to a former associate of mine. Hinamori, I didn't want to involve you in this, but I think the Ryoka are right about Kuchiki's execution. She nodded, sure she was right about that. As long as they were Captain Aizen's prisoners they had a much better chance of getting out of this, except maybe for Captains Ukitake or Kyoraku.

"Captain Aizen..." Her Captain Aizen was a good man so she would just have to help him anyway she could. It was the right thing to do.

...

After thanking Hanataro profusely for getting them as far as they did (he had manners, no matter what other people thought) Ichigo just stared at the metal door blocking the building. Rukia was behind that and in a few minutes she would be free. He'd meet up with Aizen and he'd remove whatever the hell it is in her and then they'd get his other friends and home free. He felt Chad's pressure blink out awhile ago but it was slowly coming back. Ichigo knew that he had it easy compared to what they must have gone through.

'Inoue and Ishida are smart enough to get out of trouble and Chad's gunna be fine. Wish they weren't in danger in the first place though.' Hanataro had been looking around like someone was spying on them. Probably. Ichigo wasn't too good at it yet but he felt a few people just a bit a way. He couldn't tell if they were headed for here or not.

"We're in Kurosaki-san!" Hanataro pulled back to let Ichigo in first.

Hanataro was so happy that Rukia's savior had really come for her. He had been one of the only ones to ever speak to her and heard the whole story about her life. Most prisoners talked a lot, trying to make their lives matter but Rukia just smiled a but and answered whenever he asked the questions. A street urchin training to be a shinigami gets adopted and made into a little princess, before meeting someone grand enough- if the stories were true- to be her knight in shining armor. From what he'd met from Kurosaki-san, it was true. Now like a knightly prince he was going to carry of the gentle women in white off the bridge and into their freedom! It was a happy ever after.

"OI! RUKIA WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Kurosaki screamed and it echoed around the hall. A tiny head popped over from the top tier near the window.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE DUMBASS!"

Hanataro decided that maybe this was an alternative fairy tale and the dragons were looking for love. Maybe.

...

'Nanao-chan is really scary.' Orihime sat in the 8th division barracks with the Vice Captain next to her. Since she had been found by them either she, the captain, or both had been around her and they asked her to explain everything. She might have lost them a while when she was talking about the goobly bowling ball trashcan, but it was nice to get it out anyway. Since her clothes were a dead giveaway, Ise had lent her a simple kimono to wear and Captain Kyouraku made her wear a straw hat.

"Ah, Vice Captain Ise, may I ask who this pretty little lady is? My name is Enjyouji Tatsuhusa." Orihime imagined that the man was trying to be suave as he pulled his little braids into attention.

Wow. He has licorice ropes for hair.

"Hello! My name is-" Ise smacked her nose with a fan! She felt the tears welling up from the hit. Why were people always hitting her in the head?!

"Captain Kyouraku's nephew is getting married and she had to met the whole family, but unfortunately was delayed in leaving because of the ryoka's. Isn't that right Sumumi-sama?"

"Yes! That is absolutely right!" Obviously shinigami don't give thumbs up. These people were really strange.

"Ah! My Nanao-chan and pretty niece-to-be are getting along great! To my office!" She liked this captain. He smiled a lot and was pretty funny but Ise never seemed to appreciate it. They all shuffle into the office and Captain Kyouraku pulled out some sake and cups.

"Its been a long day and the rest of the week will be even longer. My Nanao doesn't drink but you probably want to knock a few back, eh?" She made extreme x motions with her arms.

"Uh-uh no way. I'm took young to drink!" The Captain dropped the sake cup and Ise looked at her in confusion.

"Just how old are you and the rest of the Ryoka?"

"We're only fifteen." The 8th division leader just looked at her in open mouth shock.

"Yes, we really need to hurry up." Orihime worked her finger around her cheek- it was little sore from the hits she got from Yoruichi and Ise. "Summer vacation ends in only a few days!"

\--

"Ichimaru!"

"Hmm? Ohh Little Hitsugaya! Wha ta' nice surprise!"

"I don't know what kind of game your playing, but you had better leave Momo out of this!"

"That's an odd way to say hello. But I promise. I'll neva touch a hair on her pretty little head. Not even the fuzzy parts."

"Momo...I want you to be careful around the 3rd division, especially Ichimaru."

"But why Toshiro?"

"Just please, listen to me once."

"Matsumoto! Why are you just coming into the office NOW?!"

"Captain, I was drinking with Yumi in the 11th division when we saw someone flutter over into the 12th!"

"Why were you drinking instead of working?! And so what?"

"We couldn't feel any spiritual pressure from the black figure at all!"

...

Hanataro listened to the two argue and scream at each other for a couple of minutes before Kurosaki just lifted Rukia over his shoulder and started walking out towards the bridge.

"Kurosaki-san why did you..." Standing halfway on the bridge was Byakuya Kuchiki and Jushiro Ukitake, both captains. He had to warn Kurosaki to get away from them-

"Byakuya..." He knew.

"Kurosaki-kun you really need to get out with Rukia fast! I-I I'll hold them off!" The two went silent and gave him the same look of disbelief. I had to do something! Before either of them could answer I ran forward to about ten feet in front of them, it's a good distance away from either- so all I had to do was get Hisagomaru to- to-

Oh. I think I've forgotten something.

"GET AWAY YAMADA-SAN!" Rukia is screaming at me to move but Captain Kuchiki is drawing his sword and I can't move and I -

...

Momo knew she had to follow Captain Aizen's request to the letter. She had to get information in the 12th division and the only way to do so was to completely cover herself in the black reistu cloaking cape.

She can't look back if anybody is following her.

She can't draw her zanpakto out and attack.

She must not get caught.

Why would Captain Kurotsuki want to do such a horrible thing? This was all too confusing for her. The truth Captain Aizen had admitted to her was startling.

"Hinamori, I do not wish to think this about my former Vice Captain, but please try to avoid Ichimaru." They were at the table drinking tea while he explained some of the strangeness of the past few years.

"Ah! Toshiro said the same thing too!" Aizen looked very upset for a moment and he hugged her.

"Momo, for your safety, you should be leery of Captain Hitsugaya as well. I hope I am wrong, but its only for the best."

Captain Aizen never lied to her. She knew what had to be done to make everybody safe now. He even told her about the other two Ryoka wandering around and how they probably would help her if she gets in trouble.

"If you happen to run into an Ichigo Kurosaki, please inform him that the others are quite safe." He said that with a bit of a smile to his face and she couldn't help but smile back. She knew Aizen was going to be helping to save Kuchiki-san and the Ryoka! The 12th Division barracks came to site, and the security was a bit tricky.

Time to find out Kurotsuki's plans about hollows.

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this originally on LJ back in the summer of '08. I liked so many of the things I did with this story but I've grown as a writer. As a writing warm up I'm going to edit one chapter a day and post. I haven't read past the Fullbring Arc and this was written before even the Lust Arc happened, let alone Deicide.


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